In 1837, the historian Carlyle made the first recorded use of the word " queue" (排队). He spoke of the French and their "habit of standing in a queue". Forty years later Paris was the best place to wait in line.

      However, queuing became popular in Britain too. The Second World War was the golden age of queuing, and people joined any line in the hope that it was a queue for something to buy. This was the source of many Second World War jokes:

     Shopkeeper to customer : Excuse me, miss, are you pregnant (怀孕)?

     Customer : Well, I wasn't when I joined the queue.

     Today, according to research in America, we (in Britain) can spend up to 5 years of our lives queuing- as compared to twelve months looking for things we have lost. But things may be changing. Many people no longer have the patience to stand in a queue. The law of the jungle (丛林) has begun to operate at bus stops, with people using their arms to push others out of the way.

      One way to make life easier is to introduce "queue management". Customers at supermarket cheese counters can now take a ticket with a number which appears on a screen when it is their turn. And while they wait for their number, they can do a bit of shopping.

      In some booking offices there is also a system telling customers how long they may have to wait before they are served.

One of the latest technical progress is the use of an electronic scanner (电子识别器) which can read all the contents of your shopping basket or trolley in just a few seconds. If these become popular, queuing in supermarkets may become a thing of the past.

      But some people just like queuing. One man queued all night for Harrods famous January sale, and then returned home for breakfast at nine o' clock the next morning without going into the shop.

68. The joke in Paragraph 2 implies that the young woman _______.

A. has been waiting in the queue for a long time         B. doesn't need to stand in the queue

C. enjoys standing in the queue                                 D. has stood in the wrong line

69. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. The British spend more time queuing than looking for lost things.

B. The Americans criticized the British for their way of queuing.

C. The British are always patient when they wait in line.

D. People queue only when they want to buy something.

70. The British try to solve the problem of queuing by all the following EXCEPT _______.

A. making a law to prevent queuing                         

B. telling the customers the waiting time

C. using numbered tickets to put the customers in order

D. checking the price of the goods customers buy with a scanner

71. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. queue management doesn't work well                    B. there is still queuing in England

C. we don't see much queuing in Paris                       D. the French like queuing more than the British

Kieron Williamson, a seven-year-old British boy, is being recognized as an art genius after selling 16 paintings for 18, 000 pounds in just 14 minutes. This boy has artistic skills that would be the envy of any serious painter and drawn comparisons to Pablo Picasso, a child prodigy(神童)who became one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century.

 It all began on a family holiday to Cornwall on the southwest English coast when Kieron was five. Inspired by the view, he asked his parents for his first sketch-pad (速写纸). From that moment on, he became deeply interested. While supportive, Kieron’s parents are careful not to push their son. He only paints when and what he wants.

 He has a waiting list of hundreds and requests for his works have been flooding in. His father said a sale of Kieron’s works held in November even drew a buyer from Japan. “We had people driving down that night, there were people on the door waiting to come in the morning who had been standing outside, the phones were going mad as soon as the door opened at nine o’clock and within 14 minutes all the 16 pictures had gone, ” he said.

All this talent, money and high praise could so easily go to a young boy’s head, but Kieron said his friends keep him grounded. “Some of them want to be as good as me and some of them think. . . Umn, ‘you are not too special’, ” he said.

    Kieron’s favourite painter is British artist Edward Seago and he has spent some of his earnings buying a work by his hero. The rest is being invested by his parents until he reaches 25. Kieron’s parents and his younger sister Billi-Jo don’t see him as anything other than a normal seven-year-old boy who likes to tear around the house and who’s mad about football. But for now, with so much still to learn, there’s only one thing he wants to be when he grows up. He said, “I think I’ll definitely be an artist. ”

26. According to Paragraph 1, we can know Kieron Williamson ________.

A. painted 16 paintings in only 14 minutes

B. draws as well as Picasso did

C. is one of the most recognized artists

D. has unusual ability in painting

27. What made Kieron Williamson begin to love painting?

A. His first sketch-pad.

B. His parents’ encouragement.

C. The view at the seaside.

D. His swimming near the coast.

28. In Kieron Williamson’s friends’ opinion, he ________.

A. is famous but a little proud

B. isn’t very special from other children

C. isn’t worth praising at all

D. is hard to get along with

29. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.

A. Edward Seago thinks highly of Kieron’s painting

B. Kieron likes doing sports and painting instead of studying

C. Kieron’s family is very poor

D. Kieron wants to be a great painter

30. The passage mainly tells us________.

A. a seven-year-old painting genius

B. how to be a great painter

C. Kieron Williamson may become the second Picasso

D. the painting changed Kieron Williamson’s life greatly

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.
The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset?”
“No, sir,” the men answered.
The director was angry, “Why not?” he asked.
“Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we are on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”
“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one”
But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise?” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”
“That’s a good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir.” They said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.
They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset’ behind them.”
The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of minute, the director suddenly put his face in the hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.
The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.
【小题1】One evening, the director sent his camera crew out ______________.

A.to watch a beautiful sunsetB.to find an actor and an actress
C.to film a scene on the seaD.to meet the audience
【小题2】Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?
A.Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset.
B.Because he was angry with his crew.
C.Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.
D.Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset.
【小题3】The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because___________.
A.it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine
B.when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening
C.it was more moving than a sunrise
D.the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset
【小题4】After the “sunset” began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands __________.
A.because he was moved to tears
B.as he saw everything in the film moving backwards
C.as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined
D.because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine
【小题5】Which of the following is not true?
A.The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice.
B.If you want to see a sunrise, the east coast is the place to go to.
C.The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.
D.The director ordered his crew to stop filming the sunrise.

 

III 阅读(共两节,满分40分)

第—节  阅读理解 (共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

    阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine(男女主角) in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.

The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset ?”

“No, sir,” the men answered.

The director was angry. “Why not?” he asked.

“Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we’re on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”

“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”

But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”

“That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”

The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir,” they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.

They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset’ behind them.”

The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.

The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.

1. One evening, the director sent his camera crew out _________.

  A. to film a scene on the sea        B. to find an actor and an actress

  C. to watch a beautiful sunset       D. to meet the audience

2. Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?

  A. Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset.

  B. Because he was angry with his crew.

  C. Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset.

  D. Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.

3. The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ______.

  A. it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine

  B. when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

  C. it was more moving than a sunrise

  D. the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

4. After the “sunset” began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands ______.

  A. because he was moved to tears

  B. as he saw everything in the film moving backwards

  C. as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

  D. because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice .

  B. If you want to see a sunrise, the east coat is the place to go.

  C. The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.

  D. The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “sunset”.

 

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